Disclaimer: Fight me! Pistols at dawn, sword against sword, pillows at a sleepover, whatever your preference! Beat me, and I shall acknowledge your ownership of the Princess Bride and Rurouni Kenshin! MWAHAHAHA!
Author's note: *happy dance* I'm really pleased with how this chapter turned out! Not as I'd expected, but it's made me happy all the same, so I hope you like it! I felt that it was a bit more 'me'. But I could just be having delusions of individualism again. Damn those delusions.
By the way: this story could not POSSIBLY exist without the Cliffs of Insanity. Therefore, geographical accuracy can take a back seat and/or naff off. ^_^ Hope that's okay with everyone!
Hurrah, the Cliffs!
Enjoy! ^_^
The Princess Bride: Kenshin StyleFourteen
The stars wheeled in their slow course overhead, winking through small gaps in the invisible clouds. The moon was present only as a misty glow, almost directly over Kaoru's head as she watched the night sky move over her.
All had been quiet for almost an hour. Hoji had paced and muttered a few times, but other than that, all was calm. Like the calm before a storm, thought Kaoru uneasily.
The presence of the black-sailed ship was like a dark mist in the back of Kaoru's mind. She tried not to dwell on it: it gave her the shivers just to think of it. Yet she still couldn't work out why it made her feel so apprehensive.
She concentrated on the stars again, and the slap-slap of the water: pretty much the only sound there had been for some time. It was a soothing, lulling sound.
"There! The Cliffs of Insanity!"
Hoji paced the length of the boat in restless anticipation. His cry had jerked Kaoru back from a half-dozing state, and she sat up straighter, looking around with wide eyes.
"That black ship is really close now," observed Soujiro.
"I don't care! We'll reach the Cliffs any minute, and he'll be left stranded. There aren't any pathways to the top for miles either way: he'll have to sail around for hours. We'll be at the top and gone by then."
The minutes crept by, leaving a tense, anxious feeling in the pit of Kaoru's stomach, and making her throat tighten fearfully. She leant back against the side of the boat, trying to stay inconspicuous as she inched her back further up against the planking until she could see over the side, and behind.
The black-sailed ship was indeed very close now. Kaoru could just about see a dark figure, stood at the front, watching her…
She slid back down, holding her tied hands against her chest, trying to still the shivering that had taken hold of her. Who was that person?
When she finally dared to look up again, the Cliffs were looming over her, soaring hundreds of feet into the air. They were blank-faced, shadowy and distinctly unwelcoming. Kaoru wondered how on earth they were going to scale them, until she spotted a pale line, hanging in a straight vertical line from the bottom to as far up as she could see.
So: her kidnappers had left themselves a rope to climb.
"Come on, come on!" cried Hoji impatiently, dragging Kaoru to her feet and pushing her off the boat, into the waiting arms of the street fighter.
The ledge seemed rather small: it was only just big enough to hold the street fighter, herself and Hoji.
Soujiro waited on the boat as the others loaded up.
"Sorry about this, lady," said the street fighter, with a lopsided grin. Kaoru absently wondered if she would have been friends with him, had they met under different circumstances.
Before she could peruse the thought any further, she found herself being swung up and onto his wide shoulders, her arms and legs curled around either side of his neck. She instinctively tried to hold still, and not relax against him- she didn't like to be so close to someone who was planning to kill her, quite understandably- but her body was simply too tired. After a moment, she gave up and rested her head on his shoulder, her chin and nose bumping slightly against his neck as he moved to tie ropes around himself. She wondered if she would fall asleep: she felt so tired all of a sudden. The warmth of the street fighter's back and neck against her stomach only made her feel more drowsy. She shook her head a little, trying to wake herself up.
"Don't move around too much: it's distracting," said the street fighter. "And if you shake your head again, your hair tickling my neck might make me drop you."
Kaoru could feel his words thrumming through his back from his lungs. It reminded her of when her father had carried her, strapped to his back, when she was small. She had been able to feel his words then in the same way.
"Sorry," she said quietly, aware that her face was right by his ear. He turned his head enough to show her another of his quirky grins, and turned away again to load up Hoji and Soujiro.
Hoji had already tied himself securely to the street fighter's left side, and Soujiro hopped lightly onto the ledge to tie himself to the other side. As he wound the rope carefully around himself, he looked up into Kaoru's face with another of his smiles.
"Don't worry, Princess. Sanosuke is very strong: he'll get us to the top," he said reassuringly. Kaoru wished they could have been positioned differently: having Soujiro's smiling face a bare inch from her own was a little discomfiting. But then, at least it isn't Hoji's face there, she thought wryly. Hoji had her feet for company.
"Everybody ready?" asked Sanosuke, a little gruffly. He was already thinking that hefting all of them to the top of the Cliff would be no laughing matter, even with the sturdy rope they'd left ready.
"Yes, now go! Go!" exclaimed Hoji through gritted teeth. He kept craning his neck to watch the black-sailed ship, which was practically flying towards them in the darkness.
"Right," said Sanosuke, with a determined look. He began to climb.
Right hand over left hand, right over left, right over left.
On and on, on and on and on.
The first hundred feet whizzed by. Sanosuke wasn't worried in the least by that first stage. Matters of strength never troubled him. If someone told him to pay a bill, he might start looking for the door, and if someone turned him loose in a forest and told him to find his way to the nearest town, he'd likely break out in a cold sweat. But the one skill he never doubted was his strength.
His body hardly ever failed him. He could take a kick in the stomach from a horse, and stay standing. If he'd ever seen an elephant, he'd probably have been able to lift it on his back without much trouble.
However, his arms were the most powerful parts of his body. He could lift boulders with those arms, fell trees with those never-tiring muscles. And they were not only incredibly strong, but quick, too.
That was why, in no time at all, he had beaten a quarter of the Cliffs, clingers-on and all, with barely a drop of sweat on his brow.
It was at that point that the black-sailed ship reached the ledge below them.
"Move it, Sano!" cried Hoji. If he were on the ground, he'd be hopping about like an angry frog, thought Kaoru to herself. He certainly had a twitchy look to him.
Kaoru risked a glance down, past Soujiro's brown-haired head. She regretted it instantly.
They had scaled about 300 feet by that time, and the ocean was a distant, foaming, muffled roar below them, crashing against the base of the Cliffs. Kaoru closed her eyes, willing away the sense of vertigo that rose in her throat like bile. She swallowed nervously.
She had seen him, though. The man in black. That one glance had shown her the figure, clad like night itself, leaping to the rope with reaching hands, and beginning the ascent after them.
Kaoru blinked a few times, and concentrated on Sanosuke's warm, strong back and shoulders, and on the rhythmic rippling of his muscles as he pulled them ever upwards.
400 feet. Sanosuke doggedly went on, steadily and untiringly.
"You're doing wonderfully, Sanosuke," smiled the boy, looking up into Sano's profile with a happy face. Sanosuke let a harsh grin cross his face before he concentrated fully on the climb again.
Hoji kept twitching, and every time he looked down at the man in black, which was quite often, he cried out things like, "What's wrong with you? Hurry up!" or "Have I not made it clear that your job is on the line here?" or "You claim to be the strongest man in the world, and yet that man gains on us!"
At that last outburst, Sano huffed out a protest between heaves. "Yes," right, "But," left, "He," right, "Has," left, "Only," right, "Him-" left, "-self," right, "And," left, "I've," right, "Got," left, "All," right, "Four," left, "Of us." Right.
"I DON'T CARE!" shrieked Hoji, twitching even more. "JUST HURRY UP!"
Sano took another mighty breath, never pausing, and sped up.
Kaoru was getting increasingly annoyed at Hoji. He wouldn't leave the street fighter be for a moment!
"Ignore him," she whispered discreetly. She thought Sanosuke gave the slightest of nods, though he never slowed or stopped for a moment in his climb.
What am I doing? He's going to kill me just as surely as Hoji! thought Kaoru. She must be over-tired, that was all. She decided to refrain from any further comments of any kind.
When she opened her eyes from berating herself, Soujiro's smiling gaze was waiting for her.
Please don't say anything! she thought-pleaded with him. She didn't want the boy to comment on what he must have heard her say to Sanosuke. At least Hoji hadn't heard it.
Soujiro just smiled.
"HE'S SPEEDING UP! SANOSUKE, MOVE!"
Hoji was shrieking again.
Before she could stop herself, Kaoru glanced down a second time. Her nausea was blown away when she saw how close the man in black was getting, and how fast he was going. It was unbelievable.
Hoji seemed to think so, too.
"INCONCIEVABLE!" he shrieked.
Kaoru felt like hitting him. She settled for a sharp kick instead.
"OUCH!"
Score!
"Don't you DARE do that again, wench!" yelled Hoji, trying to glare at Kaoru but failing miserably: Sanosuke's hair was in the way.
"Accident!" cried Kaoru innocently, hoping her grin didn't show in her voice. She buried her face in Sano's neck, praying she wouldn't burst out laughing. Her lips parted in anticipation, and a giggle threatened to emerge.
"Princess, please!" huffed Sano, in an almost agonized tone. Kaoru looked up to see his face was looking a little red.
What…? Kaoru suddenly blushed. My lips were against his neck… She turned her head as far as she could to the other side, determinedly ignoring Soujiro's grin.
Sano kept climbing.
600 feet. On and on and on. Left over right over left over right. 650 feet.
The man in black was about 150 feet below them and gaining.
Keep, going, keep, going, go, faster, go, faster! Sano punctuated each stretch of his arms with these thoughts, getting more and more determined. He was glad the Princess had turned away. Just her breath on his neck was somewhat distracting after that episode… Up, onwards, up!
800 feet.
"HE'S RIGHT BELOW US! FLY, SANO!" Hoji screamed.
Sano flew.
Kaoru was amazed that a human being could go so fast, for so long, with three extra people tied to him. It was incredible. Yet the man in black was going faster still, inhumanly fast, swarming up the rope like a small black dart of lightning.
900 feet.
"He's only 100 feet below us now- maybe a little more," commented Soujiro to Hoji.
"It doesn't matter: he's too far up to get back down now, and we're only 50 feet from safety!" answered Hoji smugly.
Sano had emptied his mind of everything but rope and climbing.
40 feet.
"The fall alone will kill him," added Hoji.
30 feet.
The sight of him makes me afraid…
25 feet.
…Yet somehow, I don't want him to die.
20 feet.
Kaoru battled with herself, wondering if there was anything she could do. The man in black, despite his phenomenal speed, would not reach them before they got to the top. Was there any way-
Her feet hit the ground. They were already there.
"Quickly!" cried Hoji, dumping the Princess on Sanosuke and rushing to the rope, where it was tied fast around a huge rock. There was a flash of metal in the darkness, and the sound of sawing.
A few seconds later, the rope's severed end flew off the edge of the Cliff.
Kaoru's heart skipped a beat. She half-fainted, sagging against Sanosuke, who instinctively put an arm around her to hold her up. What's wrong with me? she wondered hazily.
Hoji had rushed to the edge to watch the man in black fall to his death.
The sadistic grin fell from his face.
"It can't be!" he shrieked.
Not the shrieking again, Kaoru thought to herself.
Soujiro stepped over to look for himself.
The man in black was clinging to the rock face, some 50 feet below them.
"Wow," said Soujiro.
Hoji turned to the young man in consternation. "What do you mean, wow?"
"He must be really strong, Hoji," explained Soujiro.
"Well that much is obvious!"
Hoji twitched a couple of times, running his hands through his dark hair in desperate irritation. "It doesn't matter: no one could hold onto the Cliffs. He'll fall. Just give it a minute," he said.
"He's climbing," Soujiro observed serenely. Hoji's moods never seemed to affect him.
Hoji looked down in angry dismay. It was true: the man in black was climbing. Very slowly, inches at a time, but he was definitely climbing.
"Inconceivable!" yelled Hoji, stamping his foot like a spoiled child.
Soujiro turned to Hoji with a mildly perplexed look. "I don't think that word means what you think it means," he said.
Hoji just stared at Soujiro for a minute.
"GARGH!"
He stamped off to Sanosuke and Kaoru.
"You: carry the Princess," he shouted. "And you," he pointed at Soujiro, "kill that man in black!"
He stamped off without another word, utterly furious.
Sanosuke and Soujiro exchanged glances. Soujiro smiled; Sano shrugged.
Hefting the Princess over one shoulder, he strode after Hoji.
"Don't take too long, okay?" he said as he walked away.
"Don't worry, I'll catch you up soon. Farewell, Sanosuke," replied Soujiro.
"Farewell, Soujiro."
The others were soon gone.
The night gradually became peaceful again.
The waves that broke against the Cliff were just a distant murmur from where Soujiro stood. He walked back to the edge, and peered over at the man in black. He was about 40 feet away by that time.
Soujiro picked out a strange, repetitive sound in the quietness. He looked down again. It was the man in black: Soujiro saw how he was climbing, now. He was punching into the rock face, using the hole he made as a grip to pull himself up, and punching the next hand. It looked like hard work.
Soujiro wondered who this man was. He must be a hardy adventurer, to be able to follow them so quickly in his boat, and then climb after them so rapidly.
Soujiro looked closer. The man in black had a mask on, covering most of his face. Another outlaw then? It was a possibility. Soujiro didn't really want to fight this man. But he had his orders. If Hoji said to kill the man in black, the man in black would have to die. Besides, if the man in black was not strong enough to defeat Soujiro, he deserved to die. That was the way life went.
Soujiro checked again. He was about 35 feet away.
The young man paced the edge of the Cliff. He took his sword from its sheath, and raised it slowly, beautifully controlled, to stand ready to strike.
The whooshing of the far-off waves rolled gently up from the Cliff edge, and the man in black continued to punch, pull, inch up, punch, pull, inch up with small sounds.
Soujiro continued to stand, poised, ready, his eyes gazing intently at some distant place that no one but he could see. A cool breeze stirred his hair, yet he remained motionless.
Then, as the cloud covering the moon slipped slowly by, and the moon's light fell, shimmering, on the blade of Soujiro's sword, he leapt forward, slicing the darkness in a fraction of a second. Had human eyes been there to see his movement, they would barely have been able to follow the fluid shadow that was his body, much less the glimmering slip of light that was his sword.
Soujiro paused again, and let his gaze fall on the blade, still gleaming like ice and diamond in the moonlight.
As the moon's light began to fade behind another cloud, Soujiro ran his eyes along the shining metal of his great, his only, love:
The Tsuki Katana.
How it danced in the moonlight, like liquid silver. How steady and balanced it felt in one's hand. How pure and true: how perfect.
Soujiro brought the katana up to examine the blade, as he always did. He caught the reflection of his eye in the metal, and the reflection of his smile.
This blade would dance with him as it always did.
This blade would move with him as a part of his own body.
This blade would kill the man in black.
Author's note: And there I was, sitting down to start this chapter, happily thinking I'd get to the most anticipated fight of the story… *wry grin* 'Twas not to be, Barnabas. The Cliffs did undoeth me, and now all duels must linger on 'til next I take pen to paper… or fingers to keyboard.
Apologies!
And as for the lack of a six-fingered sword… It'll make sense later, if it doesn't already (in light of a certain character's lack of six fingers on his right hand). Basically, that'd be me tweaking for the sake of synchronicity and coherency again.
But at least you got a nice, healthy long chapter. Considering the nasty writer's block I had up until this afternoon, I think that's pretty good. ^_^ I'm so glad to be able to put up this chapter on time: I honestly didn't think I'd be able to.
Anyhoo, thanks for reading! *happy dance*
Notes to reviewers: (This is way shorter this time, cos I had lots of fun [sarcasm] just getting this chapter written in time. Sorry to anyone not written to personally! I still love you! *glomp*) Be warned: I'm feeling very affectionate and happy, so there's lots of love and glomping going on here today! *cute smile* Yay!
A hearty thank you to Corran Nackatori (You'll get the happy dance in the end! *demonstrates* See? Just make sure you're really happy, and it'll work! ^_^ And I both counted and appreciated all five exclamation marks *glomp*), Rekka's Angel (Thank you very much! And I will always have fun with this lot around *watches RK cast, some running about doing the laundry and falling over (Kenshin), some busy eating (Sano), and some just sitting and smiling (Soujiro)* ^_^), TwinBakaNekos, Jellybob 15 (^_^), MegumiFuu (You're hyperactivity is what makes me happy! *glomp* Didja see X-2 then? I did and I thought it was great! ^_^ If Kenshin won't go with you, tell him there's laundry that needs doing at the cinema. He's easily fooled that way *wink*), Mary (More Sano in this one: you know, as I was typing the line about 'muscles rippling', I actually thought of you! ^_^ So you can consider that image as a present specially for you. Tho it kinda distracted me for a while, too… ^_^), Silver Eyes Bright (The book is the Princess Bride, which this story is based on: read it! READ IT!!! *laughs* It is a truly great book. ^_^), Mewberries (Shrieking tofu? *looks confused* .. *laughs* Funny image though, I have to give you that! And there is No Such Thing as too much RK!), dunkmoonX, Skipper (Fluffy bunnies! *glomps unsuspecting members of rabbit-kind* Hurrah! And don't worry about people giving you weird looks: you wouldn't believe the looks I got in the public library when I used the net there to check my reviews: I was grinning like an idiot and laughing out loud a lot, but trying to disguise it as a coughing fit… Suffice to say, I nearly choked myself. ^_^), Momentum (You should feel loved, that you should! Ah, I'm afraid the kid is Soujiro (I'm guessing you were hoping it was Yahiko). Sorry. But Sou is actually my favourite RK character, and he fitted the part, so… ^_^ Hope that's okay! *offers a Soujiro plushie to prove just how cute Sou is* ^_^), Fire Fly ('dead cookie' was one of the quotes I lifted straight outta the book: it's always made me laugh, too. ^_^ Glad it worked on you, too! College is a weird pit at the mo- too much work, tho sad cos I'm leaving soon, but all my friends are weird compared to last year, so some of them I won't actually miss after all! Overall, it's okay. Thanks for asking, by the way. ^_^ And please don't tone done the caffeine: it's part of what makes you so cool and adorable! *glomp*), Tevrah, Dark Duelist (Hello! *jumps on Yami* Yay!! How are you? I'll e-mail you again very soon. I'm just boring at the mo- all my energy for the past few days, and all my interesting-ness, has been soaked up by this chapter. It's like a sponge! (say sponge out loud: it's a really funny word if you think about it) *laughs* I'm going a bit doo-lally again! *ties Yami down helpfully, and starts tickling him until Dark can come and seduce him* ha ha!), rumi-chan (I'm sorry. Wait, no I'm not! ^_^ I'm glad you liked it so much. And thank you for putting me on your fave author's list! ^_^ ), NightRain ('hate him good'… *grins* That made me laugh. ^_^ I hadn't thought as far forward for Sano yet as finding his way back, but your idea was a very good and sound one- I may end up nicking that off you! -assuming that's okay! I'm still not sure tho… Concentrating on plotting out Sou's past at the mo, for the next chapter!), SilverRunningWater89 (Ah, lalafoofoo! ^_^ Thank you for your happy-fying review. Glad you like my story so much! Yay!! *happy dance*), animegirl2121 (Thank you for leaving a review this time ^_^ As for Morgenstern and Goldman… My research- and my friend's research- concluded that the abridged version is the only version, and the two guys are in fact the same guy. It makes sense in a lot of ways, but if there's proof out there that they aren't, I'd be happy to hear of it! Thanks for the note on the casting ^_^ ), ZetaBee (Would they? *looks at Sano and Yahiko* Yahiko: don't ask me, I'm not even in it. Akari: sorry, he's right. It's Soujiro in it with Sano. Sorry if you're disappointed!), Demon Neko-Chan, Redhead Samurai, Akari Kitsune (The bold is a cunning plan, is it not? *ineffably proud of self* ^_^ Man in black in role of utter coolness is on his way…), incoherence (I'm so glad you like Sano as much as me! I have to admit, I only thought he was a delishie bishie at first, but now I like him almost better than Kenshin… He's just too cool. And it's so much fun to put him in this story! ^_^ er… *backs away from the revelries known as the happy nakie dance* .. *spots Sano going to join in* Oh, well, if that's the case… *leaps into action* Hurrah! ^_^ *is still unable to sit down without wincing after all that spanking* I'll get revenge someday, that I will! *glomp all the same*), Misao-chan (sorry, I'm flat-out as it is! I have two other fics and so much college work to do… Sorry! But I'm glad you're enjoying it ^_^), Zeh Wulf (Oh yes, that line was destined to crop up! And Sou was the lucky guy to use it. ^_^ I love that bit in the film! And I'm thinking, Sano is really strong in the series, and his arms are way strong too, thinking of his zanbatou… So I just stretched that truth a little. *innocent smile* Oh yes, to the pain! To follow on from your 'It's possible, pig': 'It's conceivable, you miserable vomitous mass'. *can't keep straight face any longer* ^_^ I love quoting that speech…), kaoru_kamiya_theRacoonGirl (yes, yay for Soujiro!), AYA (^_^ *thanks AYA politely* Thank you!), Kenshin-Kaoru-Forever, genocide ex-sync*in (Thanks for the feedback: I deliberately didn't say it was the eels shrieking for a few lines to make it more dramatic, though I guess it didn't come off that way for everyone. But that was what I intended with it. ^_^ ), Sasami9876 (Yep, Kenshin said that, but Kenshin isn't travelling with Sano: Kenshin's kind of dead. Ahem. ^_^ The people Kenshin was talking about were another lot of peeps…), Shizuma the Night Vandel (*Grins at the review, fishes a few emergency packets of sugar out of her pocket, and puts them in Shizuma's unconscious hands for when she wakes up* ^_^), Ninetales122 (Thanks!), Tifa (*grins at the farm boy* It kinda suits him, though, doesn't it? ^_^), Queen of Shadows (*chucks a rock at Queen's computer* Mine is really evil sometimes too. I just threaten it with axe-treatment. *smiles sweetly* ^_^), Awc (I'm sorry you hate the inconcievables, but they are really important to me: I love them! And- *salute* Wishes for fluff duly noted. A while off yet though. Sorry.), TenkunoMeiou, pretty Luthien, katsumi (^_^ Always be hyper: it's a quality, not a fault *offers bag of sugar as proof of opinion*), Kay Kylo (Thank you! I shall write more, indeed!), Lil summoner yuna (*cuddles Soujiro while hyper on sugar* ^_^ *Soujiro smiles weakly: he's already given up on the idea of escaping* *Akari just grins more* ^_^), KittyKatt (Thanks! I always like to write back… Tho it takes so long every time! *sweatdrop* Worth it tho, to make peeps happy, like you! ^_^ Keeping up with the updates so far. It was really close this time- this won't probably be up til midnight (England time!) And I still have homework to do… *cries*), faerie-chan (*eats the chocolate with a grateful bow*), bittersweetKandy (Ah yes, Kaoru is irrepressible… Don't worry, she'll be in full swing sometime! ^_^ *gets a glare from Kaoru* er.. yeh, you see? *sidles out of range of Kaoru's bokken*), insert catchy name here (Yeh, they were pretty long… *sweatdrop* I made this chapter long to avoid that kind of balance this time round… And I am amazed that Cartoon Network even let you e-mail them complaints! I'll just wait and see if they do anything about it, though. *growls at Cartoon Network*), Shadowfax (Thank you ^_^ Yes, that line in the book calmed me down, too! It was a pretty tense scene, in the PB book), Lady Kino (Thanks so much! And for the good wishes: at your advice, I drew three pics of Kenshin and two of Soujiro in my Classics lesson. It made me very happy. ^_^), AiteanE (Ah, he had dark-looking eyes cos he was in the shadows, and I have a weird fascination with giving people 'dark glints' to their eyes, supposedly to suggest evil intent or anger… Weird, I know. *grin* Hope I didn't confuse you too much!), DragonLass (I'm guessing that the suspense at the end of this chapter will have you downing the coffee in litres then! ^_^ All in the name of an interesting plot though… *tries to make a good excuse and fails* Oh, what can I say, I'm just evil!), hippoclymae (*still wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes* I swear, if you were my only reviewer I would be inspired and happy enough to write every chapter anyway! *glomp* I'm sure Sano feels the same way, really, deep inside… ^_^ *kisses Sano on the cheek* You're a good boy. Now go kiss the pug! *Sano: sweatdrop*), Kaoru-dono (Yep, I noticed all my reviews, and it makes me incredibly happy every time I read the new ones! ^_^ Including yours: thank you! *grin*), Little Yahiko (Carry on! See, I replied to your review, so you have to- it's a legal obligation. ^_^ Go on, make it a shinai. Or something really random like an underwater killer rabbit! Yeah! *jumps about* I've never had a story-telling review before! ^_^), koishii (Glad to hear it! *another victim.. hehehe* Just kidding! ^_^), EvilPrincessMelphis (*shrieky eels look a little confused at the Princess' rooting* It's okay, she'd saing she thinks you were cool. *eels get all proud of themselves and splash around happily* no, no you're supposed to be menacing! Menacing! *sweatdrop*), Sakuya Tsuki (Thanks for our account: I was actually really chuffed to hear about your day. That sounds sarcastic, but it really isn't! It's really cool that you talk about stuff like that. I'm really shy at gatherings as well: if it were illegal, I'd be in prison with you! ^_^ I'm abominably antisocial. I haven't read any of the RK manga, but I'm still looking out for a site to get the translation from.. damn all my college work, I don't seem to have time for anything lately. Grr. Anyhoo, hope you have a good week! And I'll be looking out for the pocket bishies! They sound so cute!), Alec Ikiiki (And I am duly happy! ^_^ *blush* Sorry about my lingo… I guess the 'chuffed' thing is an English thing. But it means something along the lines of pleased or happy or satisfied… I dunno, it's just chuffed! It's an utterly non-arrogant form of 'thanks you made me happy with your compliment', you know? Seezoo is one of my many made-up words *sweatdrop* and it's another form of goodbye. Seeya. Seezoo. ^_^ Misao is already there- she made a brief appearance in chapters 7 and 8 I think, as for the others… I can't promise anything, but I'm still working on it so fingers crossed!), Ela (I'm glad. The K/K is all I live for! Er, aside from Soujiro's cuteness and Sano buffness of course.. *grin*), monkeysme (*throws a rock at Ryan's head* That was mightily evil of him. But he has justice a la Akari now, so you might feel able to forgive him. Just. ^_^ Yes, more inconceivables in this chapter: I tried to time them well, but I guess it's down to personal opinion. *as Ryan starts to talk, Akari discreetly shoves a hot cross bun in his mouth with a smile* There we go!), Selene (*glomp* Thanks so much for reading this story! And I'm ineffably happy that you like it! ^_^ (sorry, I have a weird obsession with the word ineffably… *scratches head in puzzlement*) Anyhoo, yes, the farm part was so much fun to write… The original book didn't really do all that much there, and the film even less… Hey, what are fanfics for if not to extend and fill in bits that one doesn't feel are long enough! ^_^), Papaya! (Yeh, Soujiro's smile is creepy, but he's so CUTE! *leaps on Sou and knocks him to the ground with an overly-affectionate cuddle* *downs the culinary offerings happily* *Soujiro watches the sugar vanish in Akari's mouth and starts worrying he's in Big Trouble* heeheeheehee! Hyper hyper hyper!!!!! Oh, and before I bounce out the window: yes, I'm planning to give Sou and Sano and Hoji a chapter each ^_^ *catches soda and downs that too* *Sou tries to run away* OH no you don't! *chases after him* I'll be back!…), Vash-chan AKA Makoto Almasy (Ah, you definitely should it's a great book. And yes, don't forget Kaoru! Or she'll hit you with a stick. *rubs the evidence of this that is throbbing on her own head* She'll really bruise ya… *wry grin*), Lady E (Thanks! I found the idea of the eels quite scary, so I thought I'd do what I could to portray that point of view to others… Glad you liked the result!), DarkElf (*laughs* Yes, that theme is terrible! And a little out of place in this story.. *laughs again* And yes, I know you exist! Hello! *glomps DarkElf to be sure* yep, you exist all right! ^_^), WIERDkittyw/wingz (Yes, almost everyone if I have time! And you of course: thank you for taking the time to review! Oh, and the reason I didn't put all the 'I love yous' of the letter from the book in my version, is because when I thought about it, I decided that it would be too out of character for Kenshin: yes, he's very sweet and loving, but I really couldn't imagine him ending every sentence with 'I love you'! Sorry if that doesn't sit well with you. I just go with my gut instincts with this story! ^_^ And yes, the man in black is SO cool! Can't wait to really get him into action!) and Bye Bye Birdie (Yep, I figure all feedback is useful and makes me happy, so I accept all reviews! Not that I'd welcome flames with open arms tho.. *sweatdrop* Thanks anyway, your support is much appreciated!).
Thank you all so much for your reviews! It really does encourage me and make me happy more than I can say. I'm sorry, I'm getting all sappy! But I just want to say, I love you all and I wish you all happiness for the week- monkey knows my week is going to be hell.
Well, seeya all in five days! Smile and be merry, for summer is on its way! ^_^
*blows kisses to all* ^_^